Raising Girls vs Raising Boys

Having raised, or in the process of raising, two girls and two boys, I get asked “which one is easier boys or girls?” I can only answer this question using my own personal experience and observation. I should also add that it also depends on their individual personalities.

I’ve often heard girls mature faster than boys. I will have to agree with that statement. I have a 16 year old daughter who thinks she’s 21 and a 21 year old son, who acts like he’s 16.

Here are just a few of the differences:

GIRLS:
As infants both my girls were criers and very fussy. However, my girls were easier to potty train.

When they were younger and had play dates, they loved playing dress up, playing house, playing with dolls, mimicking words and dance steps to most popular song at the time, laughing and giggling. At the end of each play date, they were more affectionate by hugging each other goodbye.

Heading into their teen years there was a great deal of drama. In my house it started at age 13 and ends?? Well, I am not exactly sure when it end. It seems like everything is a crisis these days. They are more likely to share their feelings and go into details. There’s always drama.Whatever is going on good or bad you’ll know about it. Who said what and why and who’s mad at whom is usually the topic of conversation.

Going along with sharing feeling, my girls are more sociable. They like making new friends. They have friends that come and go and some come back again.

Also, my girls are by far more expensive. They love to shop! Shopping with my daughters always turns into a whole day excursion. We must hit almost every store at the mall. I enjoy shopping with my daughters. It keeps me in the loop on the latest fashion. And of course, we always make time to stop at a favorite restaurant for lunch.

BOYS:

My boys were content just being with Mom. They were a lot more energetic as toddlers.

When they were younger they would start out playing a friendly game of basketball, baseball, kickball, soccer, etc. Next thing you know, they are wrestling on the ground, punching each other or using sticks or any other object they can find to turn into a type of weapon. This happened every time they had a friend or group of boys over. It always ended in rough-housing.

My boys are introverts for the most part. They prefer to have one or two very close friends.They’ve had the same friends for years. When I ask if “Is everything okay?,” I usually get the same response “everything’s fine!” When I do get them to open up they are not full of details.

Shopping with the boys is always short and sweet. They know what stores they want to buy what at and where to find it. We are in and out. They don’t like to linger. They don’t like to go shopping unless they have to. I also enjoy shopping with my boys. It’s a good one-on-one time to pry some information out of them.

Sara is a mother of four. She has two daughters – Jamie age 35 and Taylor age 16 – and two sons – Justin age 20 and Christopher age 14. She is also a grandmother of one – Andrew age 3. She lives in Mantua, Ohio with her husband Bill. She has worked at Step2 for the past 12 years (before that she was a stay at home mom for 9 years). Sara is the Operations Manager for Step2 Direct internet sales.

Love your Web Site and of course products — well made, durable, kids love them. I would like to suggest a couple ideas for a Step 2 Item – a Garage and Garden Shed. I have many Step 2 items at my home for the Grandkids to play with (boys/girls) – I think a garage would be a great idea with a flip up door to store/work on riding toys, etc. Garden shed could have play flowers in the windowbox’s, etc. Love to see them both. Grandma Linda, MN